iTunes U Surpasses 1 Billion Download Mark

Apparently, there are people out there who are learning with their iOS devices instead of just browsing the Internet, chatting with friends or wasting countless hours in Pixel People. Apple is announcing today you brainiacs have surpassed one billion iTunes U downloads.

“There are now iTunes U courses with more than 250,000 students enrolled in them, which is a phenomenal shift in the way we teach and learn,” Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue said in a statement.

In total, iTunes U is used in over 1,200 universities and colleges and 1,200 K-12 schools and districts with its hosting of over 2,500 public courses and thousands of private courses. 60 percent of the iTunes U downloads have come from outside of the U.S., Apple says. 155 countries are able to access iTunes U content with educators being able to create iTunes U courses in 30 countries.

The last major milestone iTunes U announced was it hitting 300 million downloads in August 2010. Nearly three years later to achieve 700 million additional downloads is kind of a slow progression, but it’s still an impressive feat as I personally forbid to teach myself anything on my iOS devices.